A few years after Pink Floyd concluded its supersized world tour in support of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, they played a one-off gig in 1990 alongside Paul McCartney, Genesis, and Eric Clapton, among others — all winners of the prestigious Silver Clef Award, which honors outstanding services to the British music industry.
It took place at the Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, England, and Pink Floyd played some of their greatest hits, including “Wish You Were Here,” “Comfortably Numb,” and “Money.” Now the band is releasing the performances — which previously appeared in their Later Years box set — as a standalone live album, Live at Knebworth 1990, on CD, vinyl, and digital platforms on April 30th.
“There is something special about Knebworth,” drummer Nick Mason said in a statement. “We all still have fond memories of playing there in the Seventies, and this show was no different. As a North London boy, this was almost a home game, but with the added delight of being the reassembly of the band after a fairly mega tour that had lasted for well over a year. It was also an opportunity to get the wonderful Candy Dulfer to play [saxophone on ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ and ‘Money’]. I had been a fan of hers for quite a while, and it was just a shame we didn’t have an opportunity to utilize her for more. We also had our dear friend [keyboardist] Michael Kamen guesting. Michael had contributed so much to Pink Floyd over the previous 10 years, it’s great to have something of his playing on the recording.”
Another notable guest at the concert was Clare Torry, who sang the original vocal on the LP version of “The Great Gig in the Sky” on The Dark Side of the Moon. The only other time she sang the song with Pink Floyd was at a London gig in 1973.
Pink Floyd headlined the gig for an estimated 120,000 concertgoers. Profits from the concert, which MTV broadcast globally at the time, benefited the music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, which used funds to build the BRIT School, a performing-arts school near London. The recording’s audio has been remixed by Andy Jackson with David Gilmour, assisted by Damon Iddins.
Live at Knebworth 1990 Tracklist
1. “Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5”
2. “The Great Gig In The Sky”
3. “Wish You Were Here”
4. “Sorrow”
5. “Money”
6. “Comfortably Numb”
7. “Run Like Hell”
From Rolling Stone US
